Search form

May 2011 Rocket Ship Ska Trip Archives

5/5 in a nutshell…
Break into the light! Party at ground zero! And ska-doo-de-yah!
Working backwards from Hour 3, we inaugurated the May GotchaSKAvered Ska Cover-of-the-Month Club selection, Phoenix City, with the Judge Dread version (see embellished non-regulation playlist, posted in Announcements, for the Capt.‘s lowdown on this selection_ a rulebook loophole is invoked, ‘nuff said). Ska on the jazzy side made up the 4@4, b4 which was Sherwood B. Funn spending an hour in the Voov with great old sides by Googie Rene’, The Fireballs, Joe Meek and Peggy Lee, with relative newcomers Dengue Fever and Anna Calvi (both COMINGSOON!! to 7th St. Entry and Triple Rock, respectively) contributing quite worthily. Opening the show: a well-rounded set of Jamaica’s finest ska oldies from the likes of Peter Tosh, Carlos Malcolm, the Mighty Vikings, and the even mightier Skatalites. Mash it!

5/12 in a nutshell…
Working backwards from the 3rd hour like we did last week, we just had to send in Ringo the TSPO after Prince The Kid from Phoenix City Buster (this week’s GotchaSKAvered entry)_ that match-up was too good to pass up! Ska from the European mainland (including a French Lollipop) made up the 4(+1)@4, Sherwood kicked off his middle-hour orbit with a brand-spankin’ new Tokyo Jihen BIGBAND track(!) scored by anime (and occasional Godzilla) soundtrack guy Takayuki Hattori, and the opening oldie hour included a couple of 2-Tone flavored tracks featuring guys from Mott The Hoople and Hawkwind, in additionn to usual suspects like Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Ernest Ranglin, etc. Oh, and Mango Jones has yer coffee.

5/19 in a nutshell…
Counting backwards from the 3rd hour, we’ve brought back The Night Sky’s Turning Blue by Buford O’Sullivan for so long as the night sky indeed begins turning blue during the last hour of RSST. We GotchaSKAvered Phoenix City this week with the help of UK outfit The Family Circle. Women of Ska made up th 4@4, Sherwood B. Funn spun some new Mr. Ho (in which the Orchestrotica morphs from Esquivel big band into Third Stream exotica quartet to remind us all how cool Arthur Lyman still remains all these years after he began decomposing_ all this and Steve Turre, Cal Tjader and Shiina Ringo, too! In the first hour, Millie Small serenades Poor Little Willie, Raymond Harper goes on a Safari, and Bunny Skitter once again lecture a chauffeur on the evils of driving drunk. Hey, the message can’t be repeated often enough, so… DON’T DO IT! ‘Nuff said.

5/26 in a nutshell…
Prince Buster turns 73 this weekend! Our tribute included the man himself and his revolving crew of All Stars, The Charmers telling the Prince to Dip Them, Dawn Penn on one of Buster’s many record labels, and both Judge Dread and Madness, a pair of artists with Buster-inspired names active in the 2 Tone era… and, jumping across the second hour into hour 3, a PB cover by The Specials (Too Hot). Sherwood B. Funn highlighted coming-to-towners Anna Calvi (Sun. 5/29 Triple Rock) and Dengue Fever (Fri. 6/3 7th St. Entry). the 4(+1) featured the recent covering the ancient, and RSST reminds you again, between 4:30 and 5:a.m., that… The Night Sky’s Turning Blue! Rise and shine…